What is so special about the battle of somme?

Answer 1

The Battle of the Somme was the first large offensive campaign run by the "new" British Empire forces in WW1. The prior battles in 1914 and 1915 had resulted in the destruction of the original British Expeditionary Force - this force, made up of long-serving, highly experienced soldiers with years of service in most of the various British Empire colonial wars, was generally recognized as the best quality fighting force when WW1 started.

By 1916, however, the original BEF had been wiped out. Casualties from the 1914-15 battles had resulted in the destruction of the original 6 BEF divisions. The New British Army was composed of the Territorial Army (mostly reservists and Home Guard folks from pre-war days), plus the volunteer recruits from Lord Kirshner's New Army. Unfortunately, this rapid expansion of forces meant that the British Army was filled with men with no experience, with similar leadership.

The Somme offensive was seen as the British chance to make a significant breakthough, and also to relieve pressure on the French, who were being bled at Verdun. As such, the offensive had both political and military overtones.

The battle itself is noteworthy for several reasons:

• Length of the battle - it was really a series of offensives and pauses, covering almost 5 months (1 July - 18 November)
• Total casualties make it one of the bloodies battles in human history, with 1.5+ million dead and wounded.
• (First appearance of tanks, during the very late phases of the battle (though it had little impact)
• Total lack of meaningful progress by the attacking forces

The lasting impact of the Somme is psychological - the Somme really marks the beginning of the great exsanguinary offensive campaigns on the Western Front during WW1. Even more than Verdun (which has the heroic overtones of a valiant defense) or Ypres, the Somme has come to represent the fruitless waste of life in frontal assaults - that is, it stands as the poster child of the horrors of trench warfare, where hundreds of thousands of lives were expended to no military gain.

The Somme was a huge shock to the British people, who were now really confronted with the massive butcher's bill the War was requiring. And, it seriously undermined the confidence in leadership, both by ordinary soldiers and the public.

From a strategic military standpoint, the Somme was a indecisive. The British and French forces involved paid dearly for tiny gains, and the British saw a significant portion of their best recruits slaughtered, though very valuable tactical lessons were learned, which later significantly improved the effectiveness of the British Army. While the German casualties were much lower, they lost a significant number of experienced soldiers, and the Germans were unable to replace solders as easily as either the French or British (whose combined population was over 1.5x that of Germany, which also was fighting the Russians). German strategic views were also changed, with the British Army now being taken seriously as an opponent, rather than just a 2nd-tier player.

Answer 2

The Somme was thought to be the biggest loss of life in one battle for the British in History. it was called theyre big push but nothing really came out of it. 10,000 british servicemen lost theyre lives the first day. the French attacked to. i don't know what else i can add to that because i didnt really read much about it i am afriad.

Answer 3

because it was such a blood bath. and that so many people died for so little distance, for just 21 kilometers.

Answer 4

The Battle of the Somme was so tragic because over 1 million soldiers died. On the first day, there were 60,000 injured or dead :(